


The Captain’s Prisoner

by Hana_bunny524



Category: Dream Team - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Captain Dream, DNF, Enemies to Lovers, I know nothing about pirates, M/M, Mentions of Violence, No Smut, Open to criticism, Prince GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Sapnap supremacy, Slow Burn, dreamnotfound, not historically accurate lmao
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:35:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29322543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hana_bunny524/pseuds/Hana_bunny524
Summary: George was a Prince. He belonged in a castle, not the middle of the ocean. He was a prisoner at sea to a bunch of filthy pirates, and the captain was the worst. Sure he seemed nice, and always made sure George was comfortable, and technically rescued him, and was incredibly handsome, but that didn’t mean anything! George was much happier being all alone in the castle. Who needs true friendship and freedom when you have...jewels and servants? Certainly not George. Nope. He hated the pirates. Especially the captain. He definitely wasn’t going to end up falling for him. Definitely.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 49





	1. The Prince’s Captor

George looked out upon the choppy water from the small, dingy window of his cell. The water slammed against the ship as they got closer and closer to the storm, rocking them back and forth. He could hear the crew above him scrambling around and shouting out orders, frantically trying to get everything properly tied down and trying not to get thrown off of the boat themselves. He grasped a bar of his small cell as a huge gust of wind pelted the side of the ship with rain and hail, nearly throwing him to the ground. He watched in indifference as one of his captors was thrown overboard into the icy sea. They put him here. They were responsible for his pain. They deserved this. As far as he was concerned, they could all fall overboard.  
George was a Prince. A well respected prince too. His father was kind and forgiving to his people, and George had the same reputation. He couldn’t exactly say he enjoyed being a prince. His father seemed to have spent all of his good will on his subjects and in turn had none left to give to his three children. His mother was uninvolved and busied herself with gossip rather than her son and daughters. He had felt quite lonely while in the castle, but feeling alone in luxury was better than feeling alone in a cramped and dirty cell at sea.  
He had been trying to escape said loneliness when he had been captured. He had sneaked out and gone to walk along the beach like he had been doing since he was small when he had been ambushed. The group of pirates who were now struggling with the storm raging above him had grabbed him and tied him up. They had walked him about a half mile to where their ship was docked and loaded him on like some common prisoner. They knew who he was. They knew his reputation. Did they care? No. They only cared about the money he could get them. Their plan was to wait about a month to let the panic really settle in, and then offer him up for ransom. The issue with this was, George didn’t know how much he was actually worth to his father. If they offered a price too high that could damage the kingdom’s economy, he doubted his father would accept. George knew his father didn’t really love him. How could he? His father barely spoke to him. How can you love someone whom you have almost never talked to? His father didn’t even offer him any greeting at meals or when they rarely passed each other in halls. George knew that his father would put the kingdom's economy over him. He didn’t necessarily blame him for prioritizing the thousands of citizens his father was incharge of, but it still stung to think about.  
About an hour had passed and George could feel the water around them getting steadier. The sky was lightening up already, and he realized that they must have sailed out of the storm. A gruff man in soaked clothing stomped down the stairs to the level that George’s cell was on. He looked George up and down, making sure he was still in one piece, and then turned to go back up the stairs. This was a common occurrence in his time in captivity. Random people from the crew would come down every now and then to give him food or water or other things, and then leave without a word. He was somewhat thankful that they didn’t all come down to mock him or taunt him. He got the feeling that they did sort of respect him. At least some of them. Others clearly despised him and all he stood for. Those were the ones that would come down and give him half a loaf of moldy bread and then raise their chin in victory as they walked out. Whether they respected him or hated him, he despised every single one. 

****

George had been pacing around his 4x6 cell for what felt like the millionth time when he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. He had heard yelling from the upper deck, but that was nothing unusual. What had stopped him was the little speck he had seen out the window from the corner of his eye. His heart leaped and his stomach dropped as he realized they might be nearing land. Before this moment he hadn’t thought much about escape, he was after all, in the middle of the sea. Where would he go? But if they were near land, he may be able to get to shore and find someone to help him. On the flip side of things however, they might be nearing land for the purpose of selling him, or taking him to a more secure location. Neither of which seemed like good options to him. As he looked closer however, and listened more intently to what was being shouted above him, he realized that what was approaching was not in fact land, but another ship.  
This brought a whole new set of concerns and hope. Clearly whoever was approaching was an enemy, so it could be the royal navy. He didn’t see any flags on the vessel however, so he started to doubt that. That left him with the other option. Another pirate ship. If this new ship decided to attack them, he could be killed or just recaptured. However, he could also take the chaos as an opportunity to escape. Escape where you may be wondering? He had absolutely no idea. That was a problem for future George though. He heard the shouts from the crew getting louder, and he heard a deafening explosion come from the other ship. He had a split second to process what happened before he was thrown to the ground and he felt his head hit the wall of his cell.  
His ears were ringing and his vision was black. He heard shouts around him and felt as two strong hands gripped his shoulders and shook him back to full consciousness. His eyes were cleared but his head was spinning as he tried to comprehend what was going on. He looked into the face of a stranger, a man that looked to be a few years younger than him, wearing a white band around his head and a flame emblem pinned to his shirt. He was saying something, but George couldn't understand. The man suddenly whipped his head around as another stranger entered the room, frantically motioning for the man to come with him. The man in the white band looked back at George for a second before running off to assist with whatever the other man needed. George closed his eyes for a few seconds wanting to rest his throbbing headache for a few minutes.  
His eyes snapped open as his mind cleared more. A battle. Thats what was happening. They had been hit with a canon and boarded by the other ship. Those two men were members of the other crew. This was his chance to get away. The door of his cell was wide open. He could just walk right out. He staggered to his feet and gripped the bars of his now open cell door. There was a sword just laying off in one of the corners of the storage room that the cell was located in. George had done quite a bit of training while he was back at the castle. Knowing how to properly sword fight was seen as an essential skill for any proper prince, so he was far from helpless. His main concern was the fact that he couldn't see straight and he felt like he was about to pass out, but that was just a minor concern, right? He stumbled across the floor and gripped the hilt of the sword, strapping it to his hip with fumbling hands. The stairs ahead of him were shifting and wavering beneath his feet as he tried to stumble up them. He felt his adrenaline pumping through his body, and his hands started to shake. His vision focused, and every sound around him was muffled.  
He drew his sword as he entered into the main deck, taking in his surroundings. He recognized the people who were part of the crew that had kidnapped him, but even if he didn’t, he would be able to see a clear distinction between the two. The “enemy” crew was younger looking, and they dressed cleaner. They didn’t seem to be drunk or hungover like the crew that kidnapped him, and they seemed to be aware of basic hygiene. He watched for a brief moment as the two groups fought, admiring the agility and awareness of the enemy crew. He saw the man in the white band taking on two people at once, easily parrying their drunken swings. There was no question that the enemy crew was much smaller in number, about half the size, however they were all fully sober and seemed to be actually enjoying themselves.  
George saw an opening to one of the lifeboats hanging off the side of the ship, and made his way over, slipping past most of the conflict. Suddenly, three of the men who had kidnapped him appeared out of nowhere and cut him off from his target. Yes, he was well trained with a sword, and yes, they were likely all drunk or hungover, but it was still three versus one. On top of that, George was fairly certain he had some sort of head injury.  
“Drop it.” sneered the man to his right. George slowly set his sword on the ground, never letting his eyes leave the men before him in case they tried something. He slowly stood back up and raised his hands in surrender. The man in the middle began bending down to pick up the sword, and for some reason, George’s injured brain thought it would be a smart plan to knee him in the face as he went down and try to escape. He was quickly pinned to the crates behind him by the man on the right as a sword was held to his throat by the man on his left.  
“You think that's funny?” said the middle man from the ground, blood streaming from his nose into his mouth and down his chin.  
George smirked, “I do actually.” he said in feigned politeness. That comment earned him a punch to the gut. He doubled over in pain but his hair was yanked back up and the sword was pressed further against his throat. His breath hitched as he felt a drop of blood run down his neck. The nausea from his head injury mixed with the pain in his gut made him feel like he was about to throw up. It was their turn to smirk as they briefly took the sword from his throat, opting to punch him square in the nose instead. He collapsed to his knees, blood rushing from his nose. He only had a moment to contain himself before he was yanked back up by the hair and pinned to the crates yet again, the sword finding its place at his throat. They laughed as a tear ran down his cheek out of pain. They looked back to see that they were most definitely going to lose the battle with the opposing crew. They turned their attention back to George, and the one in the middle stepped forward, blood still running down his nose.  
“If we can’t have you,” he grumbled out, “no one can.” He finished with a sneer. Panic set in. George could feel as the man with the sword to his throat tightened his grip, preparing to end him here and now. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable.  
His eyes quickly flew back open when he felt the sword leave his throat and heard grunts and shouts from the men. Another man had shown up, from the other crew. He was much taller than George and looked stronger as well. He wore a green colored shirt and had a mask with a smiley face hanging from his belt. His silver earrings seemed to shine in the light of the now setting sun. The other three men were all on the ground, and had been disarmed. Two of them were unconscious and the third had a sword pointed directly at his throat. The new strange man was glaring at him, so intensely that George felt he needed to cower or apologize on that man's behalf. Once the stranger was sure the other wasn’t going to even think of doing anything, he turned his attention to George.  
“You’re majesty” he bowed and held his hand out for George to take. George hesitantly took it and stood up as he looked out upon the fight which was now almost over. The stranger put his arm around George as either a way to keep him steady, or to keep him from running away. Not that George would dare trying to run away. He had the feeling he wouldn’t make it very far. Three more people from the enemy crew ran up to the stranger and George, two of them going to secure the men that had attacked George and the third, the man with the white band, coming to a stop directly in front of them.  
“Captain,” he said with a hurried salute. “They’ve surrendered. We’re taking their weapons as we speak. Are we taking prisoners, or just leaving?” The stranger with his arm around George, the captain as he now learned, scanned the deck.  
“Just him. Take him to your quarters. We’ll talk later.” He said, nodding to the other man. The man nodded back, grabbing George by the wrist, not tightly but enough to know that the man would probably over power him. He led him across the deck to a plank that went from one ship to the other. The first thing George noticed was how nice and clean this ship was. He was lost in thought, crossing the deck, when the other man spoke up.  
“I’m Sapnap by the way. First mate.” George hummed in reply, not wanting to give in to his friendliness. After a few seconds of silence, the man laughed a bit.  
“Not much of a talker, I take it.” George just glared in response. He was not going to entertain his captor with conversation. The man, or “Sapnap”, just smiled and raised his hands in defeat as he led George down the stairs and past a few rooms with a bunch of bunk beds. There was a room near the end with only one bunk bed in it, that had maps tacked all over the walls and little souvenirs everywhere. The room wasn’t very big, but it was nice. Sapnap led him into the room and told him to make himself as comfortable as possible while he went to get medical supplies.  
George took the opportunity alone to compose himself. His head was throbbing and his nose was still bleeding. His shirt was stained with blood from his nose and neck. The latter of which had mostly stopped bleeding. He turned and saw a mirror for the first time in what felt like weeks. He hadn’t been allowed to bathe everyday, so he was rather filthy. He also looked quite a bit thinner and he had dark circles under his eyes from lack of food, water, and sleep. There was a small cut on his cheekbone that he hadn’t noticed until now. He almost couldn’t even recognize himself. He was startled out of his thoughts when he heard the door open again.  
“I got some bandages and clean water and stuff. I also brought you a little snack, but we’ll have dinner in like an hour. I can find you some different clothes to change into as well. If you’d like at least. No offense but you're looking a little rough, I mean if those clothes are like, sentimental you can just keep them, but...you know” Sapnap trailed off, looking George up and down.  
“Thank you. I’ll take some new clothes. These can be tossed out.” He replied with a cool and diplomatic tone. Sapnap’s face lit up.  
“So he does speak!” He said, moving across the room to a small wardrobe. He picked out a simple cotton blouse, similar to the one George was wearing, and some basic black pants and handed them to George. “I hope this is, you know, fancy enough or whatever.” George just nodded in response, taking the new clothes. “Well… I’ll let you get cleaned up. I’ll be back in like, 20 minutes. The bottom bed can be yours, there’s always new sheets and stuff on there, I sleep on the top. You can just put your old clothes wherever, I’ll take them out when you’re done.”  
With that, Sapnap turned around and left the room, closing the door behind him. George didn’t hear the click of a lock, but he didn’t doubt there was one. He was a prisoner. Again. Just because he was now apparently roommates with the first mate, doesn’t mean anything is really that different.  
George grabbed the water and the washcloths that Sapnap had brought and started cleaning up the blood, then washing his face. The feeling of getting all the dirt and grime off of him was a relief, and he briefly wiped down the rest of his body before he changed into the new clothes that he had been given. They were soft and smelled clean. Sapnap had brought him a piece of bread and some cheese, which he happily ate.  
He scanned the room more closely as he ate, taking it all in. It was slightly messy and had little knickknacks scattered on various shelves. The maps that lined the walls had ink markings and string connecting place to place. Upon closer look, he could see little notes, like memories at certain places that must have been significant to Sapnap. There was a special sword hanging up on one of the walls with a fire emblem, along with an elaborate coat hanging next to it with the same emblem. He turned to look at the beds, which suddenly looked very very inviting.  
He walked over and laid in the bottom bunk which was supposedly his now. He vowed that he was just going to test whether it was comfortable or not, however when you have been sleeping on the uneven wooden floor of a pirate ship for over a week, anything seems comfortable. He closed his eyes and stretched out, shimmying under the covers, again telling himself he was just testing it. But the covers were so soft, and the bed was so warm. His head was still aching and he was just so tired. He could feel his body get heavier and his breathing steadier. His mind started going blank, and he welcomed the beginning of a deep sleep. He didn't notice when the door opened and someone whispered his name, just to blow out the lantern and leave again, hushed voices filling the hall. He was deep in a dreamless sleep. He was gone.


	2. Friendship and Regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George makes a friend?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn’t proofread this just so everyone is aware before reading Oopsie

Warm. Warm and soft. For the first time in what felt like months, but was in reality only a little over a week, George had woken up in a bed that was warm and soft. For a moment he thought he was home, in his own bed. He snuggled in further into the covers, choosing to pretend he was in the castle even though he knew he wasn’t. The gentle rock of the ship didn’t make him feel sick anymore. If anything, it was actually kind of comforting. He took a deep breath, feeling refreshed from getting a full night of sleep after he had only been able to sleep a few hours at a time on the other ship.   
It was oddly peaceful in Sapnap’s room. The room smelled of foreign spices, which Goerge assumed they had picked up on their travels. His eyes were still closed, and he was using his other senses to take everything in. The ship was silent, other than the gentle slap of the water on the side of the ship. Everyone must have still been asleep. Sapnap didn’t have a window in his room, so George had no idea what time it was.   
Rolling over in his bed, he decided to finally open his eyes. The room was just like how he remembered it. The bed was facing the door, and there were shelves and maps lining the walls. On one end of the room was a little table with a mirror and a bowl of water. Next to the bed on the other side of the room was a little wardrobe, which is where Sapnap had gotten George clothes from the night before. The floor had a few different colorful rugs overlapping each other. George took a deep breath again and stretched out, appreciating the silence,  
Suddenly, a pair of eyes peeked over the edge of the bed above him, messy hair suspended upside down.   
“You missed dinner.” Sapnap said, bringing his head back up and jumping off of his bunk. “Everyone wanted to meet you, ya’know.” He walked over to the bowl of water and splashed his face a few times.   
“I was tired.” was George’s only response. He was still wary of Sapnap and the whole crew, despite their hospitality.   
“It's fine.” Sapnap made his way over to the wardrobe and opened the doors. “Everyone understood. Yesterday was kind of eventful.”   
Kind of? How often do these guys get into fights in the middle of the ocean. Looking at the scars on Sapnap’s chin and eyebrow, and the others on his arms, George guessed quite a bit. They all seemed like they had done that sort of thing before while they were in the fight too. They all fought with ease and agility. It was as if they didn’t even have to think about it. Granted, the crew they were fighting was not really much of a challenge considering none of them were sober and many of them were considerably older as well.   
“You can just meet everyone now, at breakfast. Here, put this on.” Sapnap handed him a change of clothes similar to the ones he had been given the night before. He grabbed a change of clothes for himself and went over to the mirror to check his hair.   
“What makes you think that I want to meet everyone.” George responded, gripping the bundle of clothing in his hands. He couldn't understand why they would want to meet him. He was a prisoner. Their prisoner. Whatever their reason was, he was not going to fall for it. There was no way that he was going to let these people get to him. “I’m a prisoner, I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to go and ‘mingle’ with my captors.”  
Sapnap looked taken aback. The clothes in his hands were passed back and forth from hand to hand. The friendly environment that was previously established between them was quickly diminished and replaced with tension. Suddenly George felt defensive. He felt the need to stay cold and indifferent towards the warm interactions Sapnap kept pushing. He looked directly into Sapnap’e eyes and set his shoulders, but the challenge he set was met with just as much stubbornness.   
“We aren’t your captors, we saved you. I saved you from that cell, Dream saved you when they were literally about to kill you. None of us see you as a prisoner, but you want to act like one, that's fine by me. Lock yourself in here all day and whine about how pathetic your life is.” He turned towards the door with his clothes in hand to leave, but stopped before he reached it to tell George that he would have his breakfast sent down to him if he wasn’t going to come up and join the crew. With that final comment, he left George alone in the room to contemplate what had just happened.   
His fingers relaxed around the bundle of clothes that he had been gripping and his shoulders fell. Why did he feel guilty? He had not expected Sapnap to snap back at him. He had felt entirely justified in his actions and attitude, but was starting to rethink. Sapnap did have a point. What had George expected them to do, leave him in the middle of the ocean? Somehow teleport him back home? He held up the new set of clothes he had been given, a comfortable cotton shirt and black pants. The rest of the crew were talking and laughing somewhere down the hall. Regret swelled in him as the smell of a warm, fresh breakfast filled the room.   
After a few more minutes of him pouting over his own mistakes, he slowly got up and began getting changed into the new clothes. He did feel guilty, but he was also stubborn. He had made the decision to stand his ground against Sapnap and his friendly gestures and invitations, and while he realized it may have been a mistake, he was going to stick with it. Friendship was not going to be an option, but he decided that he would stop being so rude. Rudeness wouldn’t get him anywhere, and he did genuinely feel bad for being that way while Sapnap was just trying to be helpful.   
The sound of footsteps approaching the door shook him out of his thoughts and back into the present. There were a few gentle knocks on the door before a friendly looking man shuffled in, holding a plate of food and a cup filled with water. The man wore a black cloak with a hood that was currently resting comfortably in the middle of his head, so his face was entirely exposed. He wore a black shirt with red hems underneath it, and black pants with intimidating looking boots. Despite the scary looking clothing, he looked very warm and welcoming, and made George feel more comfortable. George had gone back to sitting on the bed after he was changed, but arose upon this other man entering to meet him halfway.  
“I brought you breakfast!” The man said in a cheerful tone. “Sapnap said you weren’t feeling up to meeting with everyone...well he was a little more harsh in his language but he’s always been a bit of a hot head. I understand if you don’t want to meet us.” Even more regret filled George as he heard this, he didn’t want them to think he viewed himself as higher than them. He was thankful for their hospitality, but he was too stubborn to admit he was wrong. He had only been there for one night and they were already so accommodating, giving him a nice bed to sleep in, offering him fresh clothing and warm meals. It was more than he felt they owed him, considering they never asked to be burdened with a prince. But he still couldn’t admit he was wrong. He could not show weakness.   
“It's not that I don’t want to meet you all, I just…” He couldn't bring himself to finish. He didn't know what he would say. A warm plate was set in his hands as he stared at his feet. For some reason he couldn’t bring himself to look the kind man in the eyes. He had no idea why he suddenly felt so guilty. He was a prince after all, he should be used to people taking care of him. But this was different. They weren’t taking care of him out of duty, or because they had to. They were doing it because they wanted to. Because they were kind. It was a feeling that he was not very used to.   
“It's ok, we all understand. Don’t mind Sapnap by the way, he really is a great friend, he just got a little offended I think. You can call be Bad by the way. That’s what my friends call me.” the man said with a smile. George was touched that this stranger already accepted him enough to have him refer to him by a nickname meant for friends.   
“You can call me George.” he replied, holding out his empty hand. Bad shook it with another warm smile.  
“It's very nice to meet you George.” He handed George the glass of water as well. “You are welcome to come up on deck and join us at any time. We want you to feel welcome here. No pressure though.” George smiled gratefully in response, and Bad turned to leave while George returned to sitting in his bed. Breakfast consisted of a few eggs, bacon, and fruit. After eating old bread for over a week, this meal felt the best he had ever had. The laughter down the hall from him faded away, as people finished their meals and were probably all moving above deck. George continued eating and got lost in his own thoughts and regrets yet again.  
****  
A few hours had passed and George was bored. He had already looked at every map on the walls and every little souvenir and trinket on the shelves. He had nothing to do. He was somehow more bored in a furnished room with things to do in it than he was in the little 4x6 room with barely anything at all. He would hear the occasional shout of laugh from the crew, but was otherwise sitting alone in near silence. He was still feeling pretty bad about his prior attitude, but he was too stubborn to suck it up and leave the room. He was a prisoner. He was here against his will. It was becoming difficult for him to truly convince himself of that, especially after what Sapnap and Bad had said, but he was going to stick with it nonetheless.   
He was yet again disrupted from his thoughts by the door slowly opening, and Sapnap peeking his head in, looking a bit guilty himself. The air was thick with tension and a bit of embarrassment from both of them, but neither acknowledged the other. He walked over to the bed where George was sitting again and grabbed his empty plate and glass, turning back to the door and leaving without a word. After this awkward encounter, George was sure that he needed to be more friendly. Sapnap was now his roommate, and unless he wanted it to be this tense all the time, he would need to make more of a conscious effort to be cordial. Luckily for him, he would have another chance a few moments later, as he returned with another glass and a pitcher of water.  
“In case you get thirsty.” He said, not looking George in the eyes. He turned to leave again, but George stopped him, lightly grabbing his wrist. He wouldn’t meet his eyes either, but muttered out a small apology for his behavior earlier. Sapnap’s shoulders relaxed, and he let out a breath that he had been holding. Tension in the air simmered out slowly as a small smile formed across Sapnap’s face. Relief washed over George as his apology was quickly accepted and then returned. It was still a little awkward, but they both felt like a weight had been lifted off of their shoulders. They had both only known each other for less than a day and had already gotten into a fight, but they were both very relieved that it was over.   
“I understand why you feel the way you do. Listen, I wasn’t lying when I said that you aren’t a prisoner and no one here sees you as one. You're free to go wherever you want on the ship, but if you don’t want to that's not a big deal.” said Sapnap, taking a seat next to him on the bed. That made George feel a bit guilty again about not wanting to leave the room but it gave him an excuse to remain stubborn. “We don’t want you to feel like a prisoner, but we aren’t going to be able to take you back to your home for a little bit. First of all, we’re pretty far from your kingdom, but we also have plans to dock at a port where a few of the crew are going to meet their significant others. Like Bad. He’s gonna meet his significant other, Skeppy there. I think you met Bad, right?” George nodded. “Yeah, so that’s also even farther from your kingdom. It might be a few weeks before we can take you back.” Sapnap fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, obviously nervous to bring this up in case he caused another argument or conflict between them.   
“It's fine.” George said looking down. “I don’t always have to be everyone’s first priority.” Sapnap gave him a grateful smile, and George openly returned it. If he was going to be stuck in this room for a few weeks, he may as well make friends with his new roommate, right? But this was as far as he would go to make friends here. He was still stubborn. The only other person that he would consider being friends with was Bad, who had already shown that he was very friendly. That was where he cut it off though. He was not going to befriend anyone else. Especially not the captain. He didn’t care if he saved him.   
****  
George and Sapnap had ended up talking for over an hour. They were getting along really well, and they were both very happy to discover that. They were both quite curious about the lives of the other. George wanted to know more about being a pirate and living on the sea. It seemed to be a lot more fun than being a prince. Sapnap talked about the rest of his crew like they were his family. He recounted stories of the crazy adventures they had all been through together, and the look in his eyes of pure happiness made George a bit jealous. When it was George’s turn to share and Sapnap’s turn to ask questions, George quickly realized that his life as a prince was quite depressing. He was very alone in the castle, his days were a constant cycle of education, and training and fancy dinners or meetings where he was barely acknowledged at all. The most exciting stories he could tell were of parties or the times when he would sneak out, and while Sapnap seemed on the edge of his seat to hear every detail, George recounted them with a bit of disdain. He realized that he really didn’t like being a prince. He found Sapnap’s stories preferable to his own.   
The two of them had been talking for so long that neither realized that they had ended up missing lunch. Sapnap originally was supposed to just take George’s dishes from breakfast, bring him more water, and then bring him his lunch, but he had gotten too caught up in the conversation. By now it was halfway to dinner time, and they still hadn’t even noticed. There was a knock on the door and both of them jumped, forgetting for a moment that they were indeed in a ship full of other people.   
“Come in!” Sapnap yelled. The door creaked open and the captain stepped in. “Oh Dream, hey! What’s up?” The captain seemed taller than George remembered. He was also more attractive than George remembered. Not that he was paying attention or anything.   
“You've been in here for a while, I just came to see how it was going. You also sort of missed lunch so... I brought you both a little something before dinner.” He said, handing Sapnap a few rolls of bread with butter. Dream looked over at George, who hadn’t realized that he was staring until now, and turned away blushing. He swore he could see a small smile form on the captain’s handsome face out of the corner of his eye but decided to pointedly ignore it. “I heard you aren’t planning on coming out of here anytime soon.” He said, addressing George directly now. “You're free to go wherever, just so you know. You're probably going to be here for a while, so you might as well make the most of it.”   
“Right…” George muttered out, blushing a bit more. He could feel Sapnap looking back and forth between them as he bit into one of the rolls that Dream had brought. Dream smirked at George’s response, making George a bit annoyed. He decided he would make a conscious effort to not become friends with the captain. He looked away from him and grabbed one of the rolls, biting into it and ignoring Dream’s presence completely. Dream hummed in amusement at the “rebellious act” that George was attempting and smiled at Sapnap in farewell. Sapnao nodded towards him in response and took another bite of the roll.   
“What was that about.” He said, smirking, once Dream left the room. He had a look on his face like he knew something George didn’t, and George did not like that.   
“What was what?” George asked, in his best attempt at genuine confusion. He stuffed the rest of the roll in his mouth, not looking Sapnap in the eyes.   
“Mhm. I've gotta go now...first mate duties and all… but I’ll bring you some books or like, a journal or something to give you something to do.” He grabbed another roll and got up to leave again. “Like we said, you're free to leave this room anytime you want. The only one keeping you here is you.” George nodded, and Sapnap left the room, leaving George alone again. This time, his thoughts were not filled with regrets and embarrassment from a slightly unjustified fight that he had started, but instead were filled with thoughts of a certain person on the ship. A tall, very attractive, slightly smug person, whom George definitely hated. It was going to be an interesting few weeks to say the very least.


	3. Rosy Hued Parties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George finally gives in and leaves his room.

It had been two days since George and Sapnap had become friends, three days on the ship altogether, and George still hadn’t actually left the room. He was starting to get a bit impatient, but he was still stubborn and didn’t want to seem inconsistent or weak-willed, especially after he had made such a big deal out of being a “prisoner”. However, after hearing all the stories that Sapnap recounted about being on the sea, George really wanted to have some of his own experiences. He also wanted to meet some of the other crewmates whom Sapnap spoke so fondly of. Not the captain of course. George had decided that he did not like the captain.  
The captain, Dream, had not stopped by at all since the first time when he had brought George and Sapnap rolls. George kind of wondered why that was, since he was a prince and apparently their guest. You would think that the captain of the ship would be just as, if not more, welcoming and hospitable to him. That was not the case. Not that George cared of course. 

Bad had come by here and there to see how George was, and see if he needed anything. They would make small talk and joke around a little whenever he stopped by, but that was as far as it went. Sapnap, being the first mate, wasn’t around very much because of the many other duties he had on the ship. The two of them would talk quite a bit when he would come back to the room before bed, but they didn’t see each other much during the day. He had only met one other person on the crew, and that was a man named Sam. Sam was also very nice to him and was extremely intelligent. He was very tall and wore a simple green shirt with a gold vest over the top. He had been the one to bring George some books and a journal to keep him busy since he refused to leave the room. At this point the only reason George wouldn’t leave the room was because he was embarrassed to admit he was wrong. 

George was currently sitting on his bed reading a book that Sam had brought him about the basics of sailing on a ship like the ones they were on themselves. It was quite fascinating, and honestly made George want to leave the room even more. It was a little past dinner time, and so far the day had been relatively uneventful. He woke up, Sapnap brought him breakfast and then left, he started reading, Bad brought him lunch, he read some more, Sapnap ate dinner with him and left, and now he was reading again. The ship rocked with a steady rhythm, and the occasional shout could be heard above deck. Every once in a while he would hear someone walk down the hallway, but they rarely stopped by his room. 

He could hear someone walking towards his room again, however this time they actually stopped. The door swung open to reveal Sapnap, looking somewhat excited about something.  
“I know you don’t really wanna leave the room, and that’s totally fine, but we are going to have a little party up on the deck if you wanted to come up. It would be a good time to get to socialize with everyone without it being super awkward. You wouldn’t even have to talk to anyone if you didn’t want to.” He said, with an excited and reassuring look. It was clear that he was hoping George would say yes, and George wanted to say yes as well. He was getting tired of staying in the room all day knowing that he could be out there with everyone else, getting to know them and having exciting experiences of his own. The thought of going above deck for a party seemed like a dream (no pun intended), but George had to act a little more subtle.

“I guess. Not for too long though.” was his reply. He wanted to stay out there all night and meet people and have fun, but he had dug himself a hole that he was too prideful to get himself out of. He had to take it slow. Sapnap beamed at him, and grabbed him by the wrist, dragging him out of the room and down the hall. George was slightly startled by this, but laughed anyway, enjoying feeling like he had a friend. 

Together, they ran up the stairs to the main deck, where it was already dark outside, the stars shining brightly. People were talking and laughing and dancing and enjoying themselves. George saw Sam and Bad and many other people whom he did not know. He did not see Dream anywhere, not that he cared or anything. He definitely hadn’t been looking forward to catching a glimpse of his face again. Sapnap let go of George’s wrist and waved to someone from across the deck. A man in a colorful jacket bounded over to them with a cheerful look on his face. He reminded George of a little bit of a puppy. 

“This is Karl, he’s my..uh..friend.” Sapnap explained, stuttering a little when he said “friend”. Odd. Karl laughed as Sapnap blushed lightly, and held his hand out to shake George’s hand. They made light conversation for a little bit before Karl left to go dance and mess around with another man, apparently named Quackity. Sapnap and George talked a little bit more, but George could tell that Sapnap really wanted to join the other two, who were laughing and dancing and kept motioning over to him. 

“You can go over with them, I’ll be fine. Go have fun” George said, putting his hand on Sapnap’s shoulder. Sapnap looked at him gratefully, and jogged over to meet up with his “friends”. George watched as they all laughed and mingled and as everyone else was also having fun around him. Bad came over to him and spoke with him for a little bit, and then went over to join a few other people. 

It was getting even later, and George was beginning to get a bit tired. He did enjoy just sitting there, watching people have fun, but he was ready to go to bed. With a sigh, he turned around and looked out on the beautiful water and watched as the waves splashed against the side of the ship. The stars, the lights, the music, the laughter, the water. All of it combined to create the perfect night. Even the temperature was perfect. He turned around again to take one final glance at the party before he headed back down to go to bed, when he caught someone across the floor watching him with interest.  
Dream

Why was the captain watching him? George made a confused face at him, to which Dream responded with a small smirk. 

George hated him. God he hated him. What was he so smug about? 

Dream tilted his head slightly and looked him up and down before turning towards the stairs and leaving the party. George just stood there speechless. What the hell was that??? He felt his cheeks heat up as he chewed his bottom lip, not knowing what the hell just happened. He cleared his throat and crossed the floor to leave as well. Was he scared that he would see Dream? Yes. Was he going to let that stop him? Also yes. 

He made a detour to say goodbye to Sapnap, who was now having a conversation with a man in a white shirt and a gold chain around his neck. Apparently his name was Punz, but George was barely listening. 

“You ok dude? You look kind of out of it.” Sapnap asked. George snapped out of his thoughts and quickly nodded, praying he didn’t ask any questions. He could feel his cheeks heating up slightly again, which was dumb considereing all that happened was Dream looking at him. Literally just looking at him. What was wrong with him?  
“Alright, well… maybe you should go get some sleep then man.” 

George just nodded again and headed towards the stairs. He was guessing that Dream was probably in his own room by now. The stairs seemed unbelievably loud as George tried to sneak down them, just in case he was wrong and Dream actually was there. He winced as he stepped onto the floor and one of the boards squeaked. 

“It’s just the floor, your highness. It won’t hurt you.”

George slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Upon turning around, he saw the one and only Dream staring back at him, that same smile on his face.

“Leaving the party so soon?”

George was not going to reply. Not even a nod. Nothing. He simply walked past him and turned to go into his own room, not looking back once to see what Dream’s reaction would be to his act of defiance. He closed the doors behind him and pressed his back to it, sliding down to the floor. Pulling his knees to his chest, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The sound of footsteps walking down the hall in the opposite direction calmed his racing heart. He really must hate Dream if just talking to him made him this upset. He was so annoyed, his cheeks were flushed and his stomach was doing flips. Why did he kind of want to smile a little? Weird. 

He got up from the floor once he had calmed down a little more and walked across the soft carpets to get himself a glass of water. Even though he didn’t really do anything when he went to that party, he was still pretty tired out, and his throat was dry. Above him, the sound of music and laughing and dancing was still going strong. He sighed, taking his glass of water over to his bed and sitting down. His feet hurt from just standing around doing nothing that whole time, and his shirt smelled like salt. To be fair, all the clothes that he had been given did. 

He put on some slightly more comfortable clothes and grabbed one of the books he had been brought, getting into a comfy position to begin reading yet again. That seemed to be the only thing he did nowadays but it was better than just doing nothing. Besides, George liked educating himself. Soon enough Sapnap came back down from the party. He was laughing and waving to someone who was further down the hall. His cheeks were slightly flushed and his smile was glowing. With a satisfied sigh, he flopped down next to George on the bed.

“So...how was your night?” George asked politely. Sapnap only hummed in response, closing his eyes, a smile still on his face. He laid sprawled out all over George’s bunk, stretching his arms outward and sighing again. George laughed, and shut his book, setting it on the floor next to his other books. “I get you're tired but this is, in fact, my bed.” Sapnap sat up with a pout and crossed his arms, making George laugh again. 

“How was your night, did you talk to anyone new?” Sapnap asked, crossing his legs and facing towards George. George shook his head. The only new people he talked to were the ones that Sapnap had introduced him to. He had the feeling many of the others were slightly scared to talk to him. He didn’t blame them of course, he had been a bit of a pain. “They’ll come around, they were probably just a little nervous, that's all.” Sapnap replied with a reassuring smile. George nodded, and Sapnap stood up, stretching again and crawling into his own bed.

“Well I don’t know about you, but I am beat.” He said, getting comfortable under his covers. “Think you could blow out the lanterns?” George stood up to put the lanterns out, taking in the comfy room one more time. Not even five minutes after putting out the lanterns, George could hear Sapnap’s breathing steadying and getting heavier. He must have been really tired. George sighed and tried to get comfortable in his bed. Unfortunately, he felt like he was wide awake. He tossed and turned for a little bit before he finally decided it was no use. 

George looked in the direction of the door, contemplating whether or not to wander above deck. After being up there once, he really wanted to go back. It was peaceful, and beautiful. He had been told several times that he could go wherever he wanted on the ship, whenever, but he wasn’t quite sure if this really counted. The last thing George wanted was to get in trouble. Especially for leaving his room which he had been so adamant about staying in. 

Cautiously, he tiptoed over to the door and slipped through, He had no idea how long he had been laying in his bed, but it seemed like everyone had gone to bed. It looked like he was in the clear. He walked down the hallway at a brisk pace, making sure to avoid the squeaky plank on the floor, and jogged up the stairs. 

His heart seemed to stop as he reached the top stair and saw, to his horror, Dream, leaning on the rail of the ship and looking into the water. His face flushed immediately, and he wanted to turn and run but it was too late. Dream must have heard him, and had turned around to face him. 

“Hello.” Dream said politely. That was different. His smug attitude was gone, and he actually seemed...Welcoming? Nice? George didn't know, but he was not about to fall for it. Nope. George could see straight through this facade. Dream raised an eyebrow, a bit of the attitude shining through, clearly waiting for a response from George. George lifted his chin slightly and walked over to where Dream was leaned against the railing. He rested his forearms on the wood, standing directly next to Dream but not actually looking at him. 

“Hello” he replied, looking out at the calm water and starry sky. Dream breathed out a laugh and mimicked George’s position, looking out onto the water as well. For a few, peaceful moments they just stood there, looking out onto the beautiful horizon and filling their lungs with the fresh ocean air. Out of the corner of his eye, he could just make out Dream’s features, illuminated by the moonlight reflecting off of the water. He was beauti- George stopped that thought abruptly. Impressive. He was impressive. 

“It's so peaceful out here at night.” Dream commented, voice soft and barely above a whisper. It seemed intimate, and fragile. The comment was quite general, but for some reason it felt like a reach, like he was testing the waters to see if George would run or if they could actually have a normal conversation. 

George didn’t plan on running this time. 

“It really is.” He replied, in a tone that was just as soft but more stable, not as fragile. Dream let out a deep sigh and out of the corner of his eye, George could see a small smile on his lips. They stood together in silence a while longer, honestly enjoying the other being there. It truly was very peaceful. George felt a deep longing in his heart to just stay here, on the sea, in this moment. He wanted this view to become normal, to become something he just knew by heart. He wanted this feeling, this feeling of comfort and love and calm, to stay forever. He wanted this life. He envied Dream, and Sapnap, and Bad, and everyone else on this stupid ship. He wanted what they had. But he was a prince. 

“I wish I could stay here forever.” He thought. It wasn’t until he felt Dream’s hand lace together with his own that he realized he had said that out loud. His cheeks flushed and he had to suppress a smile for fear that it would ruin the moment. Luckily Dream kept his eyes on the water, not turning to look at the blushing George. They just stood there, hand in hand, relishing the calm ocean and the clear sky. 

The stairs creaked from the other side of the deck, and they both turned their heads, hands still laced together. A man emerged from the top of the stairs, looking from them to their hands and smiling. It wasn’t a mean or mocking smile, but a genuine, fond smile. 

“Hey Ant.” Dream said a little awkwardly. “Is it time to switch already?” 

“I mean if you want more time, I can-”

“No it's fine, I’m getting a bit tired anyway” Dream cut him off, his own cheeks taking on a slightly rosy hue. George couldn’t help but laugh quietly, seeing all of the confidence and smug attitude diminished. Dream playfully glared at him out of the corner of his eye, but George could see a smile fighting to form. 

“All right...well… you two have a very good evening then.” Ant said, with a suspicious look in his eyes. Dream finally dropped George’s hand as he said his farewells to Ant, and George headed for the stairs. He looked back before he descended and saw Ant snickering while Dream hid his face in his hands, shaking his head. It was kind of cute how embarrassed Dream was when he was caught off guard like this. Dream lifted his head from his hands and they made eye contact. It was George’s turn to smirk and Dream’s turn to be flustered. George turned and went down the stairs, heading for Sapnap’s room. 

He slowly opened the door and slipped through, feeling around for his bed and trying not to knock any of the many trinkets in the room onto the floor. He quietly crawled into his bed and pulled the covers over the top of him, being careful not to be too loud and wake up Sapnap. He had a giddy feeling in his heart, and he could not stop smiling even if he tried. He sighed in contentment, and turned over, getting more comfortable in his bunk. He hadn’t even been out there for fifteen minutes, but he was feeling more sleepy already. After only about ten minutes, he was already fast asleep, drifting off into the land of dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s taken three chapters but George and Dream are finally talking to each other! Also I added spaces between paragraphs now, I just feel like it looks better lmao.


End file.
